Aditnow having code issues, going dark :(

[vanoord]

I'm sure it would not be too hard to move the AN forum to another platform (such as the Simple Machines platform used here on UKC) however I suspect that it is the huge database that is the difficult part and ultimately, that is what makes AN what it is. There is such a vast wealth of information stored there it would be a great shame to lose it, or at least, lose access to it, even if the data is safe.

The AN website is / was built as a whole: while the forum and mines database are sort-of separate entities, they're very closely linked eg so that images can be uploaded, hosted and easily put into forum posts); not to mention the code for things like the events system, the 'I worked here' feature, photo collections, photo comments, the ability to add locations etc. - all of which used the forum login for access.

It would have been a lot easier to have an off-the-shelf forum but it wouldn't have integrated so well - and a lot of what the site did might not have been possible.

The problem with this was that some of original code has got to the stage where modern servers can't host it and a lot of re-writing is necessary, which requires a huge amount of time - and that is a rare commodity.

With respect to the many kind offers of help, because the whole platform is bespoke it's unlikely that anyone other than the person who originally built the site could come in and work on it.

What will hopefully come back is a new forum (either bespoke or off-the-shelf) and an updated database. Much of the existing coding for the mines database is more modern, but the admin side requires work.

Some things won't return, but arguably the world has moved on in 10 years or so and some aspects are no longer required / no longer justified (and in any case were rarely used). Users won't notice the difference 99% of the time.

As an admin of AN but also from a personal point of view, I would just like to take this opportunity to thank SimonRL for all his work in creating the site and maintaining it over 15 years (so far) but also to the many, many people who have assisted with managing the website and - more importantly - who have contributed data; added obscure location; edited the mines database; added descriptions and grid references to locations; corrected things; added documents and plans; added photographs; went out and confirmed things in the field; got into long-lost places and recorded them; and generally tweaked and polished things to make the AN database what it now is. Most of this has been done without fanfare and without public comment but it has been massively appreciated: thank you!

[Cantclimbtom]

It's depends on ASP.net 4.0.30319 and Microsoft withdrew support, security bug fixes etc etc for it in January 2016. Wouldn't be surprised if it was running on server 2003 or 2008r3 or something.

There are all sorts of exploits that can be used to hoover up personal details (to steal sell lists of email addresses, attempt to reuse people's passwords in other sites etc etc) so Simon has done the right thing as it was becoming a liability (the site owner can be liable, for personally identifiable info breach). I can see why he had to pull the plug. Likely he's been putting this off for some time.

Without sounding too much like an internet stalker, it was very quick and easy to see his background and skills and see he's an expert in websites etc (as a professional) so I'm sure he knows all the options inside out.

Thanks again to him. And thanks also to UKCaving!

[pwhole]

The AditNow site seems to be completely down at the moment - 'Error 1020 - Access denied'. Is that temporary?

[ditzy]

just had a look and the site is defiantly down, no idea how long this will be for though. maybe its just temp so a certain part of the site can be redone ?

[sinker]

The AditNow site seems to be completely down at the moment - 'Error 1020 - Access denied'. Is that temporary?

Let's just leave it be and not mention it....please....lots going on in the background.

[Cantclimbtom]

At the bottom of my stairs some of the white gloss paint was peeling/chipped off to bare wood, the wife had asked me for ages to sort it out but I hadn't got round to it. Eventually... I decided to do it.

Just as I was starting the job, scraping off the loose flakes with a paint scraper, the wife appeared asked me if I was nearly finished painting and how much longer, then said "why are you doing that? You've made it look worse".

Let's not do the same with Aditnow

[royfellows]

Ref sinker above, can we please all leave it alone at this time.

[mikem]

It's back again